Facebook Messenger Launches Group Video Calling

Facebook Messenger has launched its own split-screen group video chat feature, allowing for multi-video chats in one session.

The group chat can be used by six different people at the same time while 50 people in total can listen to the audio and send texts, stickers, emojis, and GIFs. You can also use filters like those Snapchat-style selfie masks during your video chat.

This feature is going to make the Facebook Messenger much more resourceful as it won’t be just a text messenger anymore and would be the perfect way for a group of friends to connect with each other live. Facebook itself calls it “perfect for those spontaneous moments where text just isn’t enough”.

The group video chat feature rolled out worldwide on iOS, Android, and web, today, though Android will have to wait for the MSQRD-powered selfie masks. The filter feature might not ever come to desktop.

Messenger Gets Video Calling

Facebook Messenger got one-on-one video calling feature back in April 2015, and since then, everyone has been anticipating the addition of the group video call feature. With over 245 million people using video calling regularly, it’s safe to say the feature will be a hit.

Facebook had already beaten other messengers like FaceTime/iMessage, Google Duo, Snapchat and others when it came to video calling. WeChat added the feature an year ago.

How it Works

If you want to use the group video calling feature, you can select friends or a group text thread to invite to a video call.

Six people in total will be able to use the video calling feature at the same time. The Messenger screen will switch to a gallery format, and whoever is speaking will take up the big bulk at the top of the screen while the rest of the 5 will have little thumbnails for each one at the bottom of the screen, quite like Hangouts.

Up to 50 other people can join the call, but they won’t appear in the video gallery and will only be able to listen to the on-going call.

Facebook Launches Live 360 Video Streaming

Just yesterday it was announced that Facebook is going to launch its support for 360-degree Live streams, called Live 360.

Today on 13th December 2016, National Geographic’s Facebook page will publish the first 360 Live video at noon as scientists emerge from 80 days in isolation pods at Utah’s Mars Desert Research Station.

The Live stream will feature footage from the landscape of Mars and interviews with the researchers.

About the Mars Isolation Pods

These seven space scientists from around the world have spent their past 80 days in isolation pods, simulating every aspect of life on Mars.

National Geographic will be live in Facebook as these scientists emerge from their pods. The scientists will let us have a look on some behind the scenes action, allowing us to see how they suit up in their space suits, explore the living quarters, take a rover out for a drive across the surface of Mars, and much more.

Facebook Live 360 Videos

Facebook will even take questions from the Facebook audience in their Q&A session with the experts, writers and thinkers.

Live 360 videos is going to be made available to more pages via the Live API in the coming months, and it will roll out for all the pages and profiles next year.

An example of Facebook VR in action

HP Launches ALL-IN-ONE Multi-Funtional Smallest Inkjet Printer

On Monday HP revealed their latest printer series, called DeskJet Ink Advantage 3700 All-in-One Series. Available in the market from September 26th with a price of Rs 7,176, the new DeskJet is said to be world’s smallest all-in-one printer.

The HP DeskJet Ink Advantage 3700 series offers easy printing on smartphones and tablets for social media accounts like Instagram and Facebook by combining robust print, scan and copy capabilities.

“Today’s launch has unfurled a new chapter about amazing engineering experiences that weoffer to our customers. HP’s new DeskJet Ink Advantage printers is yet another innovation which is an answer to the evolving customer needs,” Rajiv Srivastava, HP Managing Director in India, said.

The company claims that the device is “half the size of other inkjet all-in-one printers”, fundamental reason for its inclusion in TIME Magazine’s 50 Most Influential Gadgets of All Time. The Hp All-in-One printer measures only 15.86 inches wide by 17.75 inches deep by 10.39 inches tall. For a multi-function printer, that’s very small.

Is the Claim Correct?

Well what’s strange is that HP’s claim that this is the smallest all-in-one printer doesn’t quite check out. It seems a company named Primera has an all-in-one printer which is far smaller than this one. Even HP itself has launched an all-in-one printer smaller than this, dubbed HP Officejet 150.

So how can HP claim that this is the world’s smallest printer in the world? It seems HP’s claim comes with an asterisk (*). The claim is limited for any all-in-one printer which costs less than $250 while the two all-in-ones we just mentioned cost even more than that amount.

Considering the price of the HP 3755 all-in-one, it definitely makes more sense to buy a small multi-function printer than to spend upwards of 25K for one. So HP has definitely done well with this one, keeping the price and size to a minimum, albeit their claim is a little misleading.

Standout Feature

Apart from being compact, the 3700 All-in-One Series provides facility for HP All-in-One Remote mobile application to be synched with the device.

Features such as print, scan and copy can all be carried out wirelessly using the free application. The app is available across all three major mobile platforms; iOS, Android and Windows devices.

The mobile devices can not only access their printer without a network but also print directly using Wi-Fi Direct.

Internet of Things (IoT)

Parikshet Singh Tomar, Director, Printing Systems claimed that HP will introduce IoT if the demand increases.

He said, “The company has a different thought process today. We are working towards satisfying the needs of the Next-Gen consumer. If IoT printer is required, I’m sure HP will build one.”

A bottle of monochrome ink is capable of printing 480 pages and the device is available in cardinal red, sea grass and electric blue colors. However, do keep in mind that HP has recently disabled third-party (cheap) cartridge support for their old and new printers. So, you’ll have to pay a handsome amount when changing printer cartridges from now on.

LinkedIn Launches its Online Learning Portal With Over 9,000 Courses

LinkedIn, the business-focused social network which Microsoft recently bought for an astounding $26 Billion, is now trying to turn over a new leaf. They have now introduced a new online-learning section with over 9,000 courses covering everything from coding and programming to writing and accounting.

Called “LinkedIn Learning”, it is built on content taken from the popular e-learning portal, Lynda. LinkedIn acquired the portal back in 2015 for $1.5 billion and is now finally making full use of their plethora of courses.

What is LinkedIn Learning?

LinkedIn Learning is an ambitious e-learning portal tailored to individuals. The subjects available include business, technology, and creative topics. The social network has also added some extra features to make the online learning system work better with their business-minded goal. Consequently, businesses looking to keep training their employees and even educational institutions exploring e-learning courses can make use of the portal.

Currently, individuals looking to start learning through LinkedIn will have to sign-up for LinkedIn’s Premium service. Once signed up, LinkedIn Premium users will get 25 new courses every week. You can also try out LinkedIn Learning for free for a whole month.

LinkedIn Learning for Business

Employers and HR managers can recommend courses for their employees and then track their performance through LinkedIn’s analytics products. The analytics tools can not only monitor employees’ progress but also look at the wider range of what is being studied as a point of reference.

The company has also said that they will soon be releasing an enterprise tier so that large companies can take subscriptions for their entire employee base.

Apart from its e-learning initiative, LinkedIn has introduced a handful of other changes. They announced an updated design for their desktop website which will come with a revamped newsfeed as well as new messaging features.

China Launches World's 1st Hack-Proof Quantum Communication Satellite

China has taken one more step forward towards achieving success in Quantum communication technology.

China has launched the world's first quantum communications satellite into orbit aboard a Long March-2D rocket earlier today in order to test the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics at space.

'Hack-Proof' Communications System

The satellite, dubbed Quantum Science Satellite, is designed to develop a 'Hack-Proof' communications system in this age of global electronic surveillance and cyber attacks by transmitting uncrackable encryption keys from space to the ground.

The 600-plus-kilogram Quantum Science Satellite, better known as Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QUESS) satellite, took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gobi Desert at 1:40 AM local time on a 2-year mission on Tuesday.

The QUESS satellite will help China perform unprecedented levels of experiments in quantum communication by sending entangled photons from the satellite to relay stations in China and Europe, which is separated by about 1,200 kilometers (746 miles).

The pioneering experiment is to test if the spooky property of quantum entanglement can work at long distances as well.

The satellite's payloads include:

• Quantum key communicator
• Quantum entanglement emitter
• Quantum entanglement source
• Quantum experiment controller
• Processor
• Laser communicator

The payloads, designed to operate for two years, were developed by the National Space Science Center in Beijing under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The QUESS satellite will also test the possibilities of communication via quantum 'teleportation,' using an entangled pair of photons.

If the satellite is able to successfully transmit quantum information securely between two ground stations, it could have huge implications for encryption and cryptography.

China has largely been ambitious to realize the importance of Quantum technology. From past two decades, Quantum technology has been a top strategic focus in the country's 5-year economic development plan.

While the United States invested about $200 Million a year in quantum research, China spent $101 Billion in quantum physics in 2015, up from $1.9 Billion in 2005.

China Invests Billions of Dollars in Quantum Technology

Quantum communication encryption is secure against any kind of interception because information is encoded in a quantum particle in such a way that it will be destroyed as soon as the system detects any intrusion attempts.

For example, when two people share an encrypted quantum message and a third person intercepts it, the message will change in an unpredictable way.

Quantum researchers have recently experimented the use of photons to successfully communicate securely over short distances on earth.

But if successful, the QUESS satellite would vastly expand the range of unhackable communication to long distances as well.

"The newly-launched satellite marks a transition in China's role - from a follower in classic information technology development to one of the leaders guiding future achievements," Pan Jianwei, the scientist who is leading the project, told the official Xinhua news agency.

If successful, the QUESS satellite would be the world's first transcontinental quantum key distribution network of its kind and China hopes to erect a global quantum communications network in 2030.

"If China is going to send more quantum communication satellites into orbit, we can expect a global network of quantum communications to be set up around 2030," Pan added.

Skype For Linux: Microsoft Launches Alpha Client To Replace Aging App

Microsoft Corp. launched an alpha version of a new Linux client for its Skype chat and calling service, very tellingly named Skype for Linux Alpha. In a blog post Wednesday that announced the launch, the company said the client “is not a fully functioning Skype client yet” but had been launched anyway because it wants “to get it [the client] in your hands as soon as possible.”

Pointing out some of the differences between the new app and the version it replaces, the blog says users will “be using the latest, fast and responsive Skype UI, you can share files, photos and videos and send a whole new range of new emoticons.” The company is also asking for users to test the app and provide feedback so it can prioritize which features it should work on adding, improving or fixing.

Skype also seems keen on phasing out its older Linux client. Using the new alpha version, “you will be able to call your friends and family on the latest versions of Skype on Windows, Mac, iOS and Android, but you won’t be able to make or receive calls to and from the previous versions of Skype for Linux (4.3.0.37).”

Linux users can download Skype for Linux Alpha from here.

Another feature announced Wednesday was the alpha version of Skype based on WebRTC (an interface that supports browser-to-browser communication without additional plugins). Using the same features as the new Linux client, it is targeted at users of Chromebook and Chrome on Linux. The offering for the Chrome browser will expand over the next few months to include landlines and cellphones as well, the company said.

If you have an existing Skype account, the WebRTC version can be accessed using this link.

Skype was first released in 2003 and Microsoft bought the company in 2011 for $8.5 billion.

Facebook Launches OpenCellular - An open source Wireless Access Platform

Big technology companies are in the race of bringing Internet connectivity to unconnected parts of the world through flying drones, high-altitude balloons, and laser beams, but Facebook has announced a far less expensive method to provide connectivity to rural areas.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Wednesday the creation of a new open-source wireless communication platform called OpenCellular that can be easily deployed in remote locations by anyone.

OpenCellular is a doorbell-sized hardware device that could be attached to a pole or tree at a range of heights from where it can deliver a wireless network, from 2G cell-phone networks to higher speed LTE, and Wi-Fi networks like those inside your home, or local coffee shop.

The device is designed to work in rural locations in conditions, including high winds, extreme temperatures, and harsh climates.

But, wait! This doesn't mean that Facebook is rolling out its own broadband services.

Facebook to Open-Source the Designs and Software of OpenCellular

The social networking plans to open source the designs for this device so that service providers, researchers, and others can use its designs and control software for free to build their own boxes that are cheap to purchase and maintain.

"We designed OpenCellular as an open system so anyone—from telecom operators to researchers to entrepreneurs—can build and operate wireless networks in remote places," Zuck said. "It's about the size of a shoe box and can support up to 1,500 people from as far as 10 kilometers away."

Facebook has tested the new system at its headquarters in Menlo Park, California and, so far, it has been able to successfully use the device to send and receive text messages, make voice calls and access relatively slow 2G data connections.

OpenCellular is Zuckerberg's latest attempt to push its goal of worldwide Internet access, aiming to connect the next 4 Billion people across the world without Internet access and nearly 700 million people without cellular service.

Facebook's Free Basics -- an initiative to provide free access to certain Internet websites, including Facebook -- was banned in India from earlier this year due to the violation of Net Neutrality principles, while Egypt followed suit in April.

Besides OpenCellular, Facebook's other global connectivity initiatives include its high-bandwidth Internet laser beams, solar-powered aircraft Aquila and unmanned solar-powered Internet-distributing plane.

The initial version of OpenCellular's platform will be available this summer, but meanwhile, Facebook is testing out the devices at its headquarters and planning outdoor tests with its initial OEMs and Telecom Infra Project (TIP) partners.

BoomStick creates room-filling audio in your head

Audio enhancement is never going to be an easy sell. You’re basically trying to sell something people don’t know they’re missing. Sure, the audio coming out of your everyday iPhone earbuds is "meh" at best, but for most people it’s good enough.

BoomCloud 360, though, contends it can fill in that aural gap that you didn’t know you were missing for $99.

The company's device is called BoomStick and, despite the big-sounding name, it’s a relatively tiny, palm-sized device with a 3.5mm output port on one end and a 3.5mm input jack on the other.

According to the manufacturers, it can enhance virtually any audio source with a built an advanced digital signal processor (ADSP) that includes psychoacoustic base adjustment, spatial enhancement and high-frequency contouring. They all combine to, BoomCloud 360 claims, reveal latent audio qualities — things that can get masked in a sound mix

Unlike devices that simply boost audio or even fake 3D sound ("I hear helicopters behind me!"), BoomStick seeks to enhance the spatial quality of music, gaming, movies and spoken audio.

Psychoacoustics, or the study of sound perception, has been around for years. BoomCloud 360 CTO Alan Kraemer, who was formerly CTO at SRS, is an audio expert who is deeply knowledgeable in psychoacoustics. He says it presents audio in a fashion more akin to how we hear it in a natural environment.

Kraemer believes that those chasing lossless audio, like Ponos and Tidal "are wrong." The benefits of higher sample rates are questionable, at best, he told me. Kraemer admitted that bit-depth can help audio quality, but "99% of people can’t hear these things."

Can I hear it

BoomStick has been on the market for almost a month, but now it’s starting to sell in Sprint stores for $79. Seems like the right time to deliver my assessment.

Like any good gadget, BoomStick doesn’t ask you to install special software or twist into knots to complete the setup. It’s simply plug and play. The lightweight device comes with its own carrying case so you can keep it with you and use it with any of your portable devices — at least those that play audio.

The jack plugs into your device's audio out port, and then your headphones plug into the other end of the BoomStick. There’s a small power slider on one side and a mini-USB port for charging. BoomCloud 360 execs told me it can last 15 hours on a charge. Since much of the chassis is filled with battery, it could be an ever smaller device if they dropped the duration to just 8 hours — something BoomCloud 360 has considered.

On the face of the device are a few indicator lights (power, battery and sound) and one large button that turns the audio algorithm on and off. Even with the power off, BoomStick serves as an audio pass-through device and when you turn it on, it doesn’t alter the audio until you hit that big button.

Hit the button

Now here’s where it gets tricky. Yes, when I hit that button virtually every listening device I tried – Apple iPhone ear buds, Beats Audio Solo 2 headphones and Sony Professional Dynamic Stereo Headphones – showed an audible difference.

In general, sound in music, games and video got more spatial presence. The ambient sound, like wind rustling trees and saxophones playing behind Frank Sinatra on New York, New York, moved a little forward. There was also a little sound and bass boost, so the overall sound got louder and there was a little more thump.

Audio quality enhancement on both the Beats and Sony headphones was certainly more pleasant. There’s a warmer sound coming from both those headsets, especially on the Sony’s, which do not seem to add any kind of unwanted signal processing.

The tone on the Apple ear buds could get a bit sharp so that, when I turned on BoomStick, some of the background noises moved into competition with the forward sounds.

While music and games definitely benefited from BoomStick’s audio enhancement, I think the device is a kind of godsend for movie Foley artists.

In film production, they're the ones who create all the sound effects, everything from footsteps to wind to rain drops. BoomStick seems to pluck those sounds out of obscurity and thrust them forward, without overwhelming the voices and soundtrack. This was particularly effective in The Day After Tomorrow: The effect was like watching a big screen movie with digital surround sound, even though I was just using Apple earbuds.

Is BoomStick worth $79 to $99? After all, you can always spend that money on a better pair of headphones. Based on my experience, however, even the sound coming from a pair of headphones costing hundreds of dollars can get a boost from BoomStick.

WhatsApp launches Desktop Application for Windows and Mac Users

The most popular messaging app WhatsApp now has a fully functional desktop app – both for Macas well as Windows platform.

Facebook-owned WhatsApp messaging software has been a mobile-only messaging platform forever, but from Tuesday, the company is offering you its desktop application for both Windows and OS X.

Few months back, WhatsApp launched a Web client that can be run through your browser to use WhatsApp on your desktop, but now users running Windows 8 or Mac OS 10.9 and above can use the new desktop app that mirrors WhatsApp messages from a user's mobile device.

According to the company's blog post, the WhatsApp desktop app is similar to WhatsApp Web with synchronized conversations and messages

Since WhatsApp desktop app is native for both Windows and OS X platform, it can support desktop notifications and keyboard shortcuts.

WhatsApp has been rising at an extraordinary pace recently. The service has over 1 Billion monthly active users.

At the beginning of the year, the company removed its yearly $1 subscription fee. Just last month, the company rolled out end-to-end encryption for all its users' communication by default.

Here's how to Download WhatsApp Desktop Software:

1. Users running Windows 8 (or newer) or OS X 10.9 (or newer) can download WhatsApp desktop app available for direct downloading.
2. Once Downloaded, open the WhatsApp desktop app.
3. Scan the QR code with your mobile phone to Sync your device.

Now enjoy WhatsApping your friends and family straight from your desktop.

Quantum Computers.. Now a Reality - IBM launches Publicly

Quantum computers are expected to take the computing technology to the highest level, but it is an experimental and enormously complex technology that Google and NASA are working on and is just a dream for general users to play with.

Hold on! IBM is trying to make your dream a reality.

BM just made its new quantum computing project online (with tutorials), making it available for free to anyone interested in playing with it.

Quantum Computers — Now A Reality!

The technology company said on Wednesday that it is giving the world access to one of its quantum computing processors, which is yet an experimental technology that has the potential to perform much faster calculations than today's computers.

You can now access IBM's five-qubit quantum computing processor, which is located at its a research center in Yorktown Heights, New York, through the cloud to run experiments and test applications.

All you will need to do is request an invitation from IBM through a web form that will ask for your institution details and your level of computing experience.

Quantum Computers Vs. Regular Computers ?

Quantum computers can theoretically be much faster than traditional computers because they take advantage of quantum mechanics.

While traditional computers use the "bits" to represent information as a 0 or a 1, Quantum computers use quantum bits or "qubits" to represent information as a 0, 1, or both at the same time. This means that 2 qubits could potentially have 4 values at the same time: 00, 01, 10, and 11.

In other words, a quantum computer with just 50 qubits will be much more powerful than any supercomputer available today.

360° Tour of the IBM Research Quantum Lab:

According to IBM, its five-qubit quantum computing processor is just a "small step" towards a useful quantum computer, though the company hopes to build a quantum computer with a medium-size quantum processor of 50-100 qubits within the next 10 years.

With a step ahead in the quantum computing, IBM's qubit processor is the world's first quantum processor accessible to the public, even if through the cloud.

Users who want to access the quantum processor can stay in the comfort of their homes or offices and work with qubits, study tutorials, and run simulations using the cloud and their computers or mobile devices.